Middle Age: A Natural History

by David Bainbridge

Overview

“There's lots of good news for the middle aged…A very jolly book with clear scientific explanations.”—The Telegraph
 
David Bainbridge is a vet with a particular interest in evolutionary zoology—and he has just turned forty. As well as the usual concerns about greying hair, failing eyesight, and goldfish levels of forgetfulness, he finds himself pondering some bigger questions: have I come to the end of my productive life as a human being? And what I am now for?
 
By looking afresh at the latest research from the fields of anthropology, neuroscience, psychology, and reproductive biology, it seems that the answers are surprisingly, reassuringly encouraging. In clear, engaging and amiable prose, Bainbridge explains the science behind the physical, mental and emotional changes men and women experience between the ages of 40 and 60, and reveals the evolutionary—and personal—benefits of middle age, which is unique to human beings and helps to explain the extraordinary success of our species. Middle Age will change the way you think about midlife, and help turn the crisis into a cause for celebration.
 
“Bainbridge's zoological examination of the human animal results in a study that is full of surprises...Heartening.”—Sunday Times

“Thought-provoking. [It] should certainly shed some new light on one's own potbellied or menopausal mid-life crisis...Fascinating.”—Evening Standard

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781846274367
Publisher:	Granta Books
Publication date:	03/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	340
Sales rank:	191,748
File size:	575 KB

About the Author

DAVID BAINBRIDGE was trained in veterinary surgery and zoology at Cambridge University, where he now teaches Clinical Veterinary Anatomy. He is the author of four previous books: on pregnancy, on the biology of sex and sexuality, on the brain, and most recently Teenagers (Portobello, 2009).www.davidbainbridge.org
David Bainbridge was trained in veterinary surgery and zoology at Cambridge University, where he now teaches Clinical Veterinary Anatomy. He is the author of four previous books: on pregnancy, on the biology of sex and sexuality, on the brain, and most recently Teenagers (Portobello, 2009). www.davidbainbridge.org

Read an Excerpt

Middle Age

A Natural History

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By David Bainbridge

Portobello Books

Copyright © 2013 David Bainbridge
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9781846272684

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In this book I want to find out what middle age is and what it
is for. On our journey, we will try to define ‘middle age’ – that
in itself is no easy matter. If you ask a doctor to define middle
age, they will probably talk about the menopause. If you ask
a sociologist, he may mention empty nests and tolerating
teenagers. If you ask an economist, she will explain careerpeaking,
maternal return to work, and provision for old age.
If you ask a friend, he might tell you it was the moment he
looked into the mirror and realized he was turning into a
replica of his parents. But do any of those things truly define
middle age any more? After all, men do not have a
menopause – well, not in the same way women do. Also,
many middle-aged people now care for young children, adult
children, new partners’ children, or no children at all. In
addition, many people’s careers do not peak in middle age,
and many mothers return to work a long time before middle
age. In short, people do so many different things with their
lives that none of these oft-suggested definitions seems to
crystallize the phenomenon we are trying to explain.
So what is my solution? I am a reproductive biologist and
a veterinary surgeon with a zoology degree, and I believe I
can offer an approach to middle age that will sort out all this
confusion.

Continues...

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Excerpted from Middle Age by David Bainbridge Copyright © 2013 by David Bainbridge. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction: A New Story of Middle Age
Part I. From Savanna to Suburbia: Why middle age has never been about growing old
1. What makes middle-aged people?
2. What breaks middle-aged people?
3. Are people really meant to die at forty?
4. Why is middle age so important? (A first attempt at an answer)
5. Saggy? Wrinkly? Grey? Why?
6. Middle-aged spreadis normal, isn't it?
Part II. Still Crazy After All These Years: The triumph of the middle-aged mind
7. Over the hill or prime of life?
8. Why does time speed up as you ger older?
9. Is your mind "complete" by the time you're forty?
10. Do middle-aged people really get sadder?
11. Is the middle-aged mind fragile?
12. S0...what is the secret of a flourishing middle-aged mind?
Part III. Older and Bolder: Romance, love, sex, babies and life after forty
13. The end of sex? (An introduction)
14. Why does women's reproduction just "switch off"?
15. Crisis? What crisis?
16. Should middle-aged people have babies?
17. Is the "empty-nest syndrome" real?
18. Will you still love me tomorrow?
Conclusion: The View from the Summit

Editorial Reviews

A welcome corrective to the widely held notion that being middle aged is ghastly -  India Knight, Sunday Times
David Bainbridge is the best kind of writer on this subject; reassuring without being woolly and articulate without being incomprehensible. You won't get any less middle-aged reading this book, but you'll feel better about it -  David Quantick
Bainbridge's zoological examination of the human animal results in a study that is full of surprises... Heartening -  James McConnachie, Sunday Times
Thought-provoking. [It] should certainly shed some new light on one's own potbellied or menopausal mid-life crisis... Fascinating -  Katie Law, Evening Standard
There's lots of good news for the middle aged... A very jolly book with clear scientific explanations -  William Leith, Telegraph
Looking beyond the clichés, veterinary surgeon and reproductive biologist David Bainbridge, who teaches at Cambridge, sets out to discover "what middle age is and what it is for". Most of us could have a pretty good stab at the first question, but the latter is where Middle Age gets interesting.. Bainbridge's answer lies in the size of the brain and our need for food and ideas with which to feed it ... a fascinating idea -  Carl Wilkinson, Financial Times

From the Publisher